


Macabre

by beccaelizabeth



Category: The X-Files
Genre: My First Fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1997-10-31
Updated: 1997-10-31
Packaged: 2017-10-06 05:55:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beccaelizabeth/pseuds/beccaelizabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a Halloween challenge, meant to be a scary story.  My first fanfic.  <i>You have been warned</i>...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Macabre

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: dont own them, just playing, no money no harm. dont know the rating, people get dead in nasty ways, this is X Files.

The old barn on the edge of town was a broken down sort of a building. It leaned up against the buildings next to it, the walls were patched up with whatever sorts of board or plastic came to hand, and the door fitted so badly it seemed pretty useless to bother with a padlock. Most folk figured it for abandoned, and wondered why it hadn't been torn down long ago. Those as knew whose it was just figured it suited his personality perfectly.

It was Friday night and Zeb was, as usual, on his way home now all the bars had closed. His house was about a mile up the road out of town, but most people would have been surprised to find he had a house, since his performance every Friday was always the same. He would pour out of the Black Cat bar, stumble and bump across the street and around the corner, look at the road home, look at his old barn right next to him, and start fumbling for his key. Tonight was no different, except on the way he knocked over someone's pumpkin lantern, and stomped along for a few steps with pieces stuck to his leg.

He leaned his head up against the barn door, trying to find the big key, and found a little bottle with it. He pulled them out, turned around, uncorked the bottle and waved it vaguely up at the moon.

"Happy Halloween!" he yelled blearily, then tipped it back and drank it dry. He looked at the empty bottle sorrowfully for a moment, then   
chucked it across the street,turned round and, after several attempts,  
got the lock off and went in, pulling the door more or less to after   
him.

 

Inside looked like where bad farm equipment went to die. Most of it   
was piled up with old, outdated odds and ends of machinery that might   
one day come in handy, or trunks from the attic back at the farm that   
had been dumped there by generations of ancestors who'd needed the   
space. Nearest the door was a heap of feed and hay bales that Zeb's   
nephew hadn't the room for out at the farm just yet, and up on one   
wall was a civil war sword that had probably been hanging there since   
the first owner went back to his fields.

Somewhere between a heap of trunks and the hay bales Zeb had himself a  
cosy little nest of tarps and old coats and other less identifiable   
things, where he had spent every night he'd had the money for liquor   
for the past twenty years.

He settled in to his pile, and rummaged around down the back just in   
case there was another bottle back there that hadn't mysteriously   
emptied itself. There wasn't one easily to hand, and as he poked  
around he managed to knock over the stack of trunks. They crashed and  
tumbled to the ground, and as they fell more than one or two of them   
cracked open.

When it had quieted down and the dust settled Zeb spied what looked   
suspiciously like a bottle of whisky lying unbroken in the cracked   
trunk. "Ha!" he exclaimed, "I knew it. I musta hidden it there...   
now what is this?" he muttered to himself as he bent over to get it.

'This' was a book, very old by the looks, with a beat up leather cover  
that had probably once meant to be black and really thick paper   
covered in cramped brown writing inside. Zeb settled back with the  
book in one hand and the bottle, now uncorked, in the other. "Cant   
make it out.." he muttered, and fumbled around for the lamp he usually  
used. "Ow! Damn it.." he yelped, as he found it, in three or four   
pieces on the floor. He sucked his cut thumb and rearranged the   
collection of stumpy candles the falling trunks had dislodged.   
Setting them right side up he lit a few until he had enough light to   
read by, took another swig, and had a proper look at the little book.

"On seeing the unseen... On the power of secrets... On the fit uses of  
brimstone... Damn funny titles this thing has... On the acquisition of  
servants who'll bring you all the riches you deserve. Now that one   
don't sound too bad. Lets see... 'May be in the past bad luck or bad   
men have kept you from what you deserve'... too right, I worked hard   
all my life, and there's always some bastard waitin with his hand   
out... 'by these means you might call on those who will get it all   
back for you'." He took another drink from the bottle and looked   
thoughtful. "Sounds good to me... lets see... what's it say... looks   
like a damn recipe book..." he muttered, and flicked through a few   
pages. "Bottle and mature for at least twenty years... well I aint   
waiting that long... lets see, what else... here it is... 'drip some   
blood inside the circle' well I reckon I done enough bleeding   
tonight.. 'then read aloud'..." He scanned down the page and looked   
at the little paragraph at the bottom of it, then twisted it back and   
forward a couple of times. "What the hell kind of language is that meant   
to be..." he muttered again. "Well, if it don't work I aint lost nothing."   
He concluded and cleared his throat, then waved his arms about a bit to get   
him in the right mood and started reading the incantation aloud...

The sounds were harsh and ugly, and he interrupted himself a couple of  
times with coughing, then lost his place and started over from where   
he thought he was. Some of the words were just squiggles he couldn't   
read, and some he just had a guess at, and one or two more he reckoned   
he recognised from his niece's workshop and her horoscopes and read   
out, more or less, and he stumbled through the lot of it. Then he   
looked up expectantly, waiting for something to happen.

And waiting.

"Well, there goes another good idea." he grumbled and tossed the book   
down, then settled down in his tarps again, tucked the bottle away,   
and closed his eyes.

"Well?" asked an arrogant voice from behind him in the dark, "You   
called me here, you could at least stay awake."

Zeb sat up with a start, and peered out into the dark.

"Did you want to make a deal or did you not?" the voice asked.

Zeb jumped up shakily, a bit of wood in his hand. "I'm warning ya,   
I'm dangerous when I get angry. And I aint got nothing worth stealing  
anyways. What are you doin here?" he asked, edging forward out of   
the candlelight to try and get a view of him.

"I'm not here to steal. I am here, your servant, to get you all the   
riches you can dream of." said the man, just visible at the edge of   
Zeb's shadow.

"All that I deserve, like?" Zeb asked.

The man chuckled. "Quite." he replied, not precisely pleasantly. He   
was a youngish man, smooth faced, more pretty than handsome, with a   
sharp look about the eyes. He smiled widely. "So, do we have a deal?"

"An what would be your side of the deal?" Zeb asked suspiciously.

"Just the usual. I give you all that you want for the next year,   
everything you could desire, and in return I get... lets see, what   
precisely... Lets say, Everything that is yours, in this barn." He   
finished in an offhand way, still smiling.

"What, everything thats mine in this barn?" Zeb asked, lowering his   
lump of wood and using it to lean on.

The newcomer nodded. "Just think, a year of living like a king if you  
should so desire. Everything you ask for I will get. What's the   
price compared to that?"

Zebs eyes went greedy and as he looked around at the rusty equipment   
and broken boxes you could see the wheels turning. "Now I've got your  
word on that? Everything I want for a year, for everything thats mine  
in this barn?"

He nodded, "Exactly so. And a deal once done can't be broken."

Zeb grinned broadly and held out his injured hand. "Shake on it   
stranger, that deal is made." And the young man's eyes flashed as he   
took the offered hand and squeezed it hard.

"Done." he said sharply, and grinned.

"Right then. So.. what do I call you?" Zeb asked.

"Oh, just call me.. Luc." The young man shrugged.

"Lucky's more like it. Come on Lucky, the first thing I'm wanting is   
a room over at the motel for the night. Think you can manage that?"

"Your wish is my command." Luc replied, with a triumphant look on his   
face, and Zeb wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hooted with   
laughter as they went out.

Behind them the candles all blew out in the breeze from the door, and   
the books pages flapped as it lay forgotten, settling on 'how to   
return the servant whence it came from... It is important that this be  
done on the night of summoning, else its hold be strengthened ...'

***  
X files opening credits here :)  
***

Mulder and Scully were heading along the empty highway towards Olmory   
on a crisp late October evening, Mulder driving, Scully flicking   
through a nearly empty folder. All that was in it were three photos,   
two so blurred you could hardly be sure the man in them was human, and  
a third a party scene with an enlargement of one man sitting on his   
own at the back, his face cast into such deep shadow by the lurid neon   
'Black Cat Bar' sign behind him only the outline was visible. Then   
there were a couple of pieces of paperwork, with hardly anything   
filled in.

"You know Mulder, I don't really see what there is for us to   
investigate here. This.. Luc Ferris, seems to have committed no crime,  
or ever even been a suspect. I don't know why the local sheriff even   
asked for our help. These rumours don't really seem worth the time."   
Scully said.

"At first glance it would seem so. On the other hand, Sheriff Charnley  
has been watching this guy for almost a year, and he has a bit more to  
say about him than he'd be comfortable going on the record with.   
Apparently he's shot off three reels of film in broad daylight to get   
some record of this guy, and those shots are the best he has. They   
always come out with him out of focus, and only him. He says sometimes  
the guy just looks out of focus, especially in daylight." Mulder said,  
turning off the highway past a tiny run down motel on the road in to   
town. 

"The party scene was from the local paper. It shows one Zeb Walker,   
the town drunk to all appearances, celebrating the first thousand   
dollars profit he and his 'business partner' Luc Ferris made. Only no  
one, including the Sheriff, seems to really know how Ferris makes his   
money. They have a little shop on the high street, nothing fancy,   
hardly anyone ever seems to go in there, but it makes more profit than  
Microsoft."

"He suspects some sort drugs connection? Organised crime maybe?"

"Maybe, but if so the Sheriff cant get a whiff of it, and this is one   
of those little towns where everyone knows everyone and probably went   
to school with them. Neighbourly sort of place, so there's always a   
neighbour watching whatever you get up to. Real quiet too, up until   
the last year or so. The Sheriff says when 'Lucky' there hit town all  
the local malcontents stopped grumbling and started making trouble.   
There have been assaults, muggings, arson attacks, you name it. Every  
sort of violent crime has gone through the roof."

"Incited by Ferris?"

"That's the Sheriff's guess, but if so he's never caught him at it.   
When he arrived in town most people seemed to really like the guy.   
They say he's the quiet sort, real polite, likes to stay in the   
background. Helps old ladies across the road, that sort of thing."

"Sounds like a model citizen." Scully said sceptically, one eyebrow   
raised.

"As far as anyone can prove. But if that's so, how come he has half   
the good people of Olmory convinced that he is the devil himself?"   
Mulder asked, half grinning as he pulled in to the main street.

Scully raised both eyebrows and looked back at the blurry photos, then  
closed the folder as they pulled up outside the Sheriff's office.

Where they found a small crowd had gathered around the door, yelling   
at the Sheriff as he stood there on the steps.

"He's dangerous!" "He's the devil himself!" "When are you going to   
stop him?" "You know when it's happening! What are you going to do   
about it?" "You know what he made my boy do last week! He'll take him  
too, I know it!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Please! Return to your homes! The situation   
is well in hand! Come on Folks, it's late and we're all getting cold   
now.. If you just move on home.." The Sheriff yelled, or tried to.   
Then he caught sight of Mulder and Scully getting out of the car.   
"Folks, here's the help I told you I'd sent for.You are the FBI right?  
Mulder and Scully? They'll be assisting me here. Come on and let them  
through, okay?" He almost pleaded. The reaction of the crowd was   
astonishing. They opened up a way through but they kept on grabbing   
at the two agents, to shake their hands and say things like "Thank you  
sir!" "You will stop him ma'am, wont you?" "Don't let him take my   
boy!" "Just keep him away from us Friday night, please!" The two   
finally got ushered inside by the sheriff, who yelled "Time to go   
home now folks. We'll handle it from here." And closed the door   
after them.

Mulder and Scully straightened their clothes and glanced at each   
other. Those were very frightened people out there.

"Sheriff Charnley, I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, and this is Special   
Agent Dana Scully. What was going on out there?"

"Hi, hi. You can just call me Neil. Most everyone does." the   
sheriff said, shaking their hands. "And that outside... well, Zeb   
has come up with a pretty fine tale this last week, and now he's got   
the whole town hysterical about it."

"What did he say?" Mulder asked.

"Well... I think you better hear it from him." Neil replied, waving   
them back towards the cells.

"You've arrested him?"

"More or less. He came in here white as a sheet, babbling something   
about his deal with Ferris and how I had to protect him, but I just   
figured he was drunk again. It's been a while but you should of heard  
some of the stuff Zeb would come up with when he was tanked up. How   
he'd just had a long talk with Elvis, or about the month he spent in a  
flying saucer drinking wine from Venus. That sort of thing."

Scully glanced over at Mulder, trying not to grin. Mulder mostly   
ignored her.

"Then he went running over half the town, telling all his friends and   
customers and everyone within three blocks of here how Ferris was the   
Devil and he would be coming on Halloween to steal all our souls, and   
how they had to protect him. And when that didn't work, he started   
smashing windows, until I had to lock him up just to get some peace   
and quiet. I figured when he sobered up I could let him out again,   
but as far as I can tell he's a sober as he's ever been and he is   
still telling the same story." Neil finished.

"So people actually believed him? A man with a reputation like   
Mr Walker's, telling a story like that?" Scully asked.

"Well, you've got to understand the kind of reputation Luc Ferris has   
built up around here. They say he knows your darkest secrets, and he   
can get you anything you want for the right price. Not that I believe  
it, he's been real careful to be all sweetness and light when I'm   
around, but he's always about one step further away from trouble than   
I can rightly arrest him for, if you know what I mean. And then   
there's his attitude. After Zeb went off like that, some of Luc's   
hangers on went around asking if it was true, and apparently he just   
grinned and said 'be in the barn Friday and see'. So those kids told   
their friends, and their friends told their folks, and then half the   
town turns up at my door and starts yelling for me to go arrest the   
guy and wont listen when I say I don't have no grounds to do it. I   
guess if they get much worse I could call it protective custody, but   
I don't reckon I could get away with protecting a guy from his own   
wedding." Neil concluded as he unlocked the door on Zeb's cell.

"The wedding! Oh, my poor Carrie." Zeb groaned., sat on the bed   
with his head in his hands. "Neil, you got to tell her what he really   
is. You got to talk to her! Please man, she was nearly your own   
family, you got to help her! That fiend has her under some sort of   
spell I swear it."

"Now Zeb you know bad as Carrie wants to get out of this town he   
doesn't need spells to get her to marry him. I'd like you to meet   
Agents Scully and Mulder, from the FBI. They want to hear what you   
told me about Luc Ferris."

"Finally, someone's taking it serious. He's the devil himself I tell   
you. I called him up last year and now he's going to take us all with  
him back to hell!" Zeb exclaimed, jumping up.

"Calm down, calm down Zeb! Come on through to the office and have a   
coffee and we'll talk about it." the sheriff said.

So they moved through to the office, which was just about big enough   
for the four of them and a coffee machine, and after a while Zeb was   
persuaded to sit down, at least hold a drink, and begin more or less   
at the beginning.

"Well, like I said, it's all my fault. I went and called him up last   
year, and now I'll be paying for it. A year of living like a king, he   
said, for all that's yours in this barn. well I don't keep much of   
mine in that old barn anyhow, it's so old it would just fall down on   
it, so I figure its a deal. I didn't know it was the devil himself.   
That old book said a servant. A servant to get me all I deserve!   
Not the evil one himself, to take my family for my stupid deal.   
Well, I reckoned everything was going right, we got money rolling in   
and the farm is doing great and when my Carrie starts talking about   
marrying the guy I just figured everything was great, my Carrie was   
settling down at last. Cus he didn't seem like the devil most days,   
you know? He set up a shop and he didn't do no magic or nothing,   
and I damn near forgot how he turned up at all." He took a slurp of   
his coffee and tried to stop his hands shaking, then gave up, put the   
drink down and put his hands under the table instead. 

"Well, last week, we's got the wedding all set up. And it was going   
to be great. They were gonna get themselves a marriage license down   
the road, come back married and have a big party with all the family   
in the old barn, because there's no use wasting money on a hall when   
you've got a place that big all of your own, or so he said. Then last   
Friday, he says to me, 'Zeb, hadn't you better get yourself a moving van?'   
And I ask him, what for, are we gonna move to a bigger shop? And he just   
laughs, real quiet, and nasty. And he says 'Zeb, I got your family in the   
barn for when the deal comes due, don't you think you should bring the rest   
of whats yours?' And for a minute I'm sure I don't know what he means, and   
then it all comes back to me. Then bottle, the book, the deal, that whole   
night. And he starts laughing out loud and I feel sick to my stomach, and   
that's when his face started glowing. Bright red, right there in the bar!   
And I jumped out of my chair and ran out of there fast as I could, and went   
to warn Carrie. But she don't listen to me no more! She used to be such a   
sweet girl, til that Luc got hold of her. So I came in here to warn the   
sheriff, and he wont listen, and I went around trying to warn people but   
they wont listen either, and I am just so grateful to you that you are   
finally going to take this serious and do something about it." Zeb finished,   
reaching across the table to grab Scully's hand and looking into her eyes   
with real sincerity. Scully pulled her hand away and stood up.

"Well, Mr Walker, I'm sure we'll give this all the attention it   
deserves." She said. "Mulder, a word?" she asked, and they walked   
out of the room and closed the door behind them, leaving the sheriff   
to calm Zeb down.

"Pretty wild story, don't you think Scully?" Mulder asked.

"Mulder, that man is obviously an alcoholic. And the way he looked in  
there, I would recommend we get him to a hospital before his liver   
gives up, not waste our time chasing this demon of his." Scully   
replied.

"I admit, he isn't the world's best witness, but you saw those people   
out there. Something has this town acting strange, and it just may be  
that something is Luc Ferris."

"This is a small town Mulder. It wouldn't take more than a second   
rate con man to start a panic like we've seen."

"But it isn't totally impossible that there is something more going on  
here. We have come across some pretty strange phenomena and even   
ritual deaths linked to Satanism before now."

"So we should expect another rain of frogs?" Scully said, as the door  
opened and the sheriff joined them.

"Well, we had a rain of fish here yesterday." The sheriff said,   
closing the door behind him. The two agents turned to lok at him.   
"No, really. It was the strangest thing. About two hundred fish,   
right on main street. If it hadn't rained since you could probably   
still smell them."

"Do you believe in Zeb's theory, Sheriff?" Mulder asked.

"Well... I figure it's my job to stay calm through all of this, but...  
It's not that he does anything or says anything, it's just... Rachel   
says he's got a bad aura. I can't put it any better than that. He   
walks in to a room , and you just feel it."

"And Rachel is...?"

"She's the local white witch, Zeb's other niece. Used to be the   
scandal of the town until Luc turned up. She does mail order   
astrology and courses in meditation, you know the sort of thing.   
Zeb says you ought to talk to her, that she knew what was going on   
before he did." Neil answered.

"The book he mentioned, do you know where it is now?" Mulder inquired.

"That's over at Rachel's place too. She collects old books, and when   
she went to tidy out the barn last month she found a trunk full of   
them had spilled open. I can take you there if you want, it's just   
across the road." he offered.

"Please do." Mulder replied.

"I'll just go see if the coast is clear, or if we'll have to slip out   
the back." Neil said, shrugging on his coat, and led off.

***

The converted barn where Rachel Walker lived was almost directly   
opposite the sheriff's office. It was neatly painted with brackets   
for supporting hanging baskets up that currently held unlit pumpkin   
lanterns. The outer door was plain red, with a lion's head door   
knocker. The sheriff used the doorbell hidden beside the door frame.

After a couple of moments the big door rolled aside. Standing in the   
doorway illuminated by the old lantern she held stood a short but   
statuesque young woman with very long brown hair reaching down to her   
waist. She was wearing only an old blue silk kimono, which was not   
quite large enough for her.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought it was just friends. I'm not exactly   
dressed for company... I'm in the middle of a ritual... Good thing I   
didn't answer the door skyclad I suppose, but it is a little cold for   
that.." Rachel exclaimed.

"Hi," Mulder smiled, holding out his hand and getting out his i.d.,   
"I'm Fox Mulder, and this is special agent Dana Scully. Can we come   
in for a minute?"

Rachel took his hand and held it for just a little longer than   
necessary, looking into his hazel eyes and smiling. "Sure, please,   
do come in. And your partner." she stepped aside to let them in to   
the porch, and said frostily, "Do you really have to be here Neil?"

"Well, I suppose not exactly.." he started.

"Good." she said, and slid the door to in his face, locking it with a   
big key on a little pentacle key chain.

She smiled at Mulder again. "I'll just have to tidy a few things up   
inside. Carrie might just want to put something on before you two   
walk in."

"Your sister is here too? I'd like to talk to her." Scully said.

"Sure, just a minute." Rachel replied, and slipped in through the   
inner doors leaving the lantern with them.

They stood waiting with their breath steaming in the cold air, looking  
at the inner doors as they glittered in the lamp light. They were   
covered in silver and gold paint in intricate designs that looked   
somewhat like celtic knots and a little like leaves, and where there   
might be porthole windows on ordinary swing doors here there were two   
large pentacles, silver and gold.

Rachel came back in. "Sorry to keep you waiting." she smiled up at   
Mulder again, and led them inside.

The big room inside left no doubt this had been a barn. The ground   
floor was one big open space, with a mostly smooth floor painted   
white. There were beams visible in the high ceiling, and one end had   
a second floor with a rail along the edge and access by a spiral   
staircase. Everywhere was lit up by the hundreds of candles in big   
iron stands all around the edges of the room.

"Carrie's down the end" Rachel told Scully,"She's about ready to talk.  
She might be a bit dreamy still, coming back from a meditation. You  
can go ask." Then she turned to Mulder and said "Why don't you and I   
talk upstairs?"

"Sounds good." Mulder replied, smiling, and followed her.

Scully looked a little annoyed as she watched them go off, but then   
she turned and walked down the barn to the young blonde girl sitting   
in a white dressing gown in the center of a big ring of candles,   
Carrie.

"Miss Walker?" Scully enquired. 

Carrie opened her eyes slowly and looked around at her.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" Scully asked, stepping over the   
candles to join her.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Carrie asked, a little distant.

"I'm Special Agent Dana Scully. I'm here to talk to you about Luc   
Ferris." Scully said, crouching down beside Carrie and showing her ID.

"Luc? We're getting married on Friday. Don't tell me something has   
happened to him?" Carrie asked, sounding vague but worried.

"No, nothing has happened to him. We are a little worried about some   
of the things that have been said about him."

"Oh, I know. It's terrible what people will say. And the way they are  
acting, it's hardly safe for him to leave his house." Carrie replied,   
sounding more awake.

"You haven't heard him say anything to incite these rumours? Perhaps   
even something threatening?" Scully asked.

"Luc, threatening? He's the sweetest man I ever met! People say some   
horrible things about him, but people in this town are always so small  
minded. You know Rachel had to re paint the outside door when the   
local kids threw paint bombs at it? They wouldn't quit when the   
pentacle was still up. She worries now about the wards not starting   
until you're inside, but what with the preacher going on about her all  
the time it was just more trouble than it was worth. This thing with   
Luc, it's just the same. Just because his signature looks a little   
bit strange they hound him. It's boredom really, there's nothing else  
to do in this dump. I'll be so glad to get out of here." Carrie said.

"He's promised to take you away then?"

"Oh yes, he won't tell me quite where, but he says we'll go as far   
away from here as I can imagine." Carrie sighed, dreamy eyed.

"He won't tell you where you are going?" Scully asked.

"No, he wants to keep it a surprise. He knows I love surprises. But   
he says we have to leave on Halloween, so that's why we can't put off   
the wedding until uncle Zeb gets over his silly ideas. That's what   
this is about, isn't it? Zeb's stories? If you'd met him you would   
know just what those stories are worth." Carrie snorted. "Is there   
anything else you want to ask? Because really, Luc is just the   
sweetest man in the world and you simply won't find anyone to say   
otherwise."

Scully nodded, stood up and said, "Well, thank you for your time."   
Then walked over to the stairs.

Upstairs Mulder had been getting along rather better with Rachel.

"It's a bit of a mess." Rachel apologised, leading him up the stairs.  
"I'll have to fold the bed up if you want someplace comfortable to   
sit, the table is just covered in Samhain treats and decorations."

"That's okay, you should see my place when I'm working on something.   
You wont find an empty surface anywhere." Mulder replied.

Rachel set the lamp down under a desk covered in bits of paper and   
computer disks, and folded up the futon she usually slept on to turn   
it back into a sofa. "Right then,"she said, sitting down, "What can I  
do for you?"

Mulder sat next to her.

"We're here investigating reports about Luc Ferris." Mulder said.

"Ah yes, Zeb's demon. Is that really an FBI matter?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I take an interest in the unusual." Mulder smiled.

"I suppose this qualifies." Rachel smiled back. "Zeb's got half the   
town convinced the guy is really Lucifer, come to take them all down   
to hell with him. Personally I don't precisely believe in the   
Christian Devil, most of the names can be traced back to perfectly   
respectable pagan gods, but there's no doubt the idea can stir up   
quite a fuss. And Ferris is... well, unusual. I rely a lot on first  
impressions, and Luc Ferris just gave me the creeps from the first   
moment I set eyes on him."

"I hope I'm doing okay." Mulder said, then got his mind back to the   
business at hand. "Your uncle mentioned a book he'd used."

"Yes, his little black book. I don't know how old it is, but certainly  
some of the other books in that trunk were shipped over from Europe   
when our ancestors came here. Would you like to see it?"

"Please." Mulder replied.

Rachel got up and went over to the bookcases that lined one wall. She  
pulled on some white cotton gloves lying on the desk there, then bent   
over and picked up a wooden box about the size of a book from the   
bottom shelf, and a little key. She brought the lot back to Mulder on  
the sofa and sat down next to him again.

"Here. I keep it locked up because.. well.. it's not exactly a   
pleasant book. The rituals in here... I wouldn't want anyone to pick   
it up by accident and think it was my sort of magick." She grimaced as  
she opened the box, and a peculiar unpleasant smell wafted out. "You   
know, after a night out, Luc Ferris smells just like that. Not that   
I'm saying there really is some sort of connection, just that its  
strange."

"You don't believe Zeb could have summoned the devil then?"

"Well, like I said, I don't precisely believe in him. But I do believe  
that there are things, ideas, that get lent so much power by people   
over time... I guess it's possible that Zeb could have found one of  
them..." Rachel said in a sombre voice.

"I guess it's a little difficult to believe that a drunk old man in a   
barn could have called up something generations of black magic never   
got hold of."

"Actually, that part I can believe. If you were a devil looking to   
make a deal, would you come for an ambitious man with a mind like a   
lawyer who had learned every trick and incantation to keep you under   
control, or an old drunk with no idea what he was messing with who   
could be fooled by a moderately determined car salesman?" Rachel   
asked, looking at him.

"I suppose you're right." Mulder replied, a smile in his voice.   
"Which one of these does he claim worked?" he asked.

Rachel flicked through pages until she came to one titled 'On the   
acquisition of servants who'll bring you all the riches you deserve'.  
"He said it was a deal to get him all the things he deserved, so I  
suppose it was this one. Although how anyone can believe that   
everything they deserve would mean only good things I don't   
understand. It's one of those little jokes that whoever wrote this   
left in here to trip up anyone who tried to use it without proper   
tutoring. These old spell books were often like that, with extra   
lines in and symbols you really shouldn't draw, so anyone just copying  
the thing wouldn't gain anything by it."

"A sort of medaeval anti piracy device." Mulder said.

"Exactly." Rachel smiled.

"Could you show me one? I'm intrigued, exactly what did they do?"  
Mulder asked, moving closer to her so he could get a better view of   
the book.

"Well, most of them I wouldn't know how to work out, but this   
banishment one is relatively simple. Apparently the writer was less   
than pleased with the idea of someone calling one up and not putting   
it back right away. There's just this line, here, that doesn't   
belong." Rachel pointed out, with Mulder looking almost over her   
shoulder to read it. "It's in Latin. Translated it means something   
like 'split,mirror and double', so I suppose it was meant to create   
two more of them if you read it out wrong. Not very difficult to see   
why that is not a good idea."

"So all the rest of this is meant to send this servant back to hell?  
It's only three lines.. that shouldn't be so hard to do. I don't   
suppose anyone has tried this on Luc Ferris yet?" he asked jokingly.

"Once." Rachel said, not smiling. "Aaron, a friend of Zeb's, yelled it  
at him in the bar day before yesterday. Nothing happened then, but   
nobody's seen Aaron since. Neil put out a missing persons report, but  
with the town nearly rioting he cant go looking... The trouble is it   
shouldn't work even according to the writer. He say it is only   
efficacious on the same day as the servant is summoned, and must be   
said then. I rather hope it will work on anniversaries too, or we   
just might be in trouble. I've got my sword ready just in case."

"You need a sword for this?"

"Well, I have a sword for other ritual work, but for this you are   
supposed to get a little of your blood on the blade and point it at   
the servant, then say the words.This book does seem rather preoccupied  
with blood." Rachel scowled, and put the book back in it's box and   
locked it. She looked around at Mulder, whose face was only an inch   
away from her.

"Mulder, I don't think we are going to get anything on Ferris from   
Carrie Walker." Scully said as she came up the stairs. Mulder moved   
back towards his end of the sofa.

"Carrie's besotted with him." Rachel said to her as she came into   
view. "She won't hear a wrong word against him, and everything he does  
is 'obviously' for good reasons even if the rest of us can't see them.  
You might want to talk to Caleb though. He's her twin, and until Luc  
came along they were real close, though you wont hear it like that   
from Carrie."

"Thanks." Mulder said to her. "We'll talk to him next."

"You know, I have quite a lot of books here that you might find   
interesting." Rachel said as Mulder got up to leave. "You could   
come back later and take a look around."

"We will probably be busy with the investigation." Scully said.

"Tomorrow evening then?" Rachel asked, still looking at Mulder.

"Sure, I'd love to." Mulder smiled warmly.

The two agents returned to the Sheriff's office, which was more or   
less quiet now.

"Mulder, I don't suppose I can convince you that this is just a case   
of mass hysteria?"

"I'd like to have a bit more of a look around before I decide that   
Scully. It's still too early to tell."

"None of what I've heard sounds particularly convincing to me." Scully  
replied.

"Well, Rachel had some pretty interesting things to say."

"Hmm, I'm sure she did." Scully said. Mulder glanced at her, but she   
continued "Did you see the infamous book?"

"Yeah, a little black book apparently written in blood. It's in a   
sort of occult code, with little bits of english or latin here and   
there. Interesting."

"But not particularly rare."

Mulder just shrugged.

Inside the sheriff's office they found Caleb Walker had come to pick   
up Zeb.

"He's agreed to go, on the condition that he gets to keep hold of a   
bible the whole time." Sheriff Charnley told them.

"Could we have a word with Caleb before they go?" Mulder asked.

"Sure, they're just out back. But if you keep them hanging around too  
long we'll never get Zeb moving again." he warned, only half grinning.

Caleb confirmed Rachel's and Zeb's stories, saying he'd never liked   
Luc and he had noticed a change in his sister since she met him. He   
seemed a practical sort, more reliable than the rest of his little   
family.He drove home with Zeb hiding down low in the cab of his truck,  
clutching a bible, a crucifix and a bottle of whisky.

Then the agents got rooms out at the motel, where they heard more   
stories about Luc and Zeb. Apparently news of what they were   
investigating had spread already.

The next day they were kept busy by a steady stream of townsfolk   
coming in to the office to tell them more about what strange things   
they'd seen Ferris do, how he knew your secrets and never lost at  
cards and could set men to fighting just by looing at them. Or more   
often, how a friend of theirs swore they had just seen him do it. Not  
that they wanted to name names, and get their friends into trouble.

Then around mid morning the events of the day took on a more macabre   
cast.

Sheriff Charnley got a call that a body had been found out in the   
fields between town and the motel, and it looked like it was Aaron.   
The sheriff and Scully and Mulder headed out there in the Sheriff's  
truck to see what had happened.

In the middle of an empty field the old man's body lay stretched out,   
with a bottle in one hand. You could almost have mistaken him for a   
man asleep, until you moved around and could see his face. Then you   
realised that the carrion eaters were hungry this time of year.

"How was the body identified Sheriff?" Scully asked, pulling on her   
gloves and examining the blue, half frozen remains.

"Well, the man that found him saw Aaron in the bar that night, when he  
disappeared. He reckons that this man is wearing the same shirt, and  
this could be on his way home, if he decided to try and take a short   
cut in the dark. And, well, everyone knows what happened, and how he   
went missing.. I guess that's not exactly a positive identification,   
but we're working on it. Can you tell what killed him?" the sheriff   
asked.

"I'm not sure. No remaining obvious trauma, except the facial injuries  
which probably occured after death. It could have been the his heart,  
or the drink, or quite possibly the cold but I wont find out anyn more   
until I do a full autopsy." she concluded, standing up and peeling off   
her gloves with a snap.

"I suppose you'll want the body sent somewhere?" he asked.

"No, if you can arrange the facilities I'll conduct the autopsy   
myself." Scully said.

"Meanwhile I think I'll have a little talk with this Luc Ferris."   
Mulder decided. 

That turned out to be far easier said than done.

The shop was closed, and his flat was empty except for the furniture   
that came with it. Carrie told them it was always like that, and gave  
them the names of a few places he often visited. She was staying with   
her sister still, who was doing er best to persuade her to put off the  
wedding for one more day, and with the news of the body that had been   
found Rachel was having some success.

Ferris' haunts werelikewise empty, and most people said that he   
usually visited at night. By late afternoon, they had found a lot of   
places that he wasn't and none that he was. Scully had finished her  
autopsy.

"I hope you had better luck than we did. If the man isn't hiding he   
is doing a very good impression of it." Mulder said when they met up   
to compare notes.

"As far as I can tell, the man currently thought to be Aaron Ries   
died of natural causes. I'm waiting on the lab reports of couse, but   
what I found seemed to indicate he had a heart attack on his way home.  
His doctor reported that he had a cardiac incident last year and his   
general level of health seemed very low. I would say it is very likely  
that this death is a coincidence."

"A pretty badly timed one. But I might agree with you, IF we could   
find Luc Ferris." Mulder said, frustrated.

"Mulder, with all the rumors going around about him, I think he's more  
likely to be hiding from his neighbours than from the law." Scully   
said.

"Maybe." Mulder sighed, and went back to the search.

Then that evening Carrie came in looking a bit sad. "I've just talked  
to Luc." She said. "He said he didn't know you were looking for him,   
and he wouldn't tell me where he was but he said he'd be here soon."   
She paused, and sighed. "I told him I was delaying the wedding. He   
didn't like it, but with Aaron gone, and all this fuss from our   
neighbours, and Uncle Zeb acting so strange, I just couldn't face it.   
Rachel's right, I shouldn't have to worry about all that on my special  
day." She sighed again. "They'll all feel like fools day after   
tomorrow when nothing's happened, and then we can have our wedding   
right out in the open instead of sneaking around looking over our   
shoulders."

"That's great Carrie. You know you've made the right decision.   
Everything will calm down by next week." Neil said, patting her on   
the back.

"Yes, that's what Rachel reckoned. And she's right, as always." She   
sighed again,this time perhaps a bit more dramatically than necessary.  
"Oh, Agent Mulder, I nearly forgot. She says you could drop by around  
seven and she'll have something for you to eat while you look at her   
library."

Neil looked a little pained, but Mulder looked pleased and thanked her  
for the message.

That evening Mulder decided he really ought to go check out Rachel's  
library. In case there was anything useful to the investigation.   
Scully agreed to phone him if and when Luc Ferris turned up for  
questioning, and so he crossed the road and rang Rachel's bell.

The door slid open, and there stood Rachel, in a long green silk dress  
with a silver belt and wearing her hair piled up on her head and   
spilling down over her shoulders. The effect made Mulder rather  
conscious that although he had tried to tidy himself up there is only  
so much you can do for a suit you have been wearing for two days.

"Welcome." Rachel said, stepping aside and letting Mulder in.

This time the barn was mostly dark, with only the candles in the   
upstairs lit. The air was scented with vanilla and incense. Upstairs  
the table was set for two, and elegant pink candles on thin silver  
candlesticks were lit. All around the edges of the room there were   
white or pink candles of all shapes and sizes, burning bright but   
soft.

"If you would like to share some supper with me, it is nearly ready."  
Rachel said.

"That would be great." Mulder replied.

Mulder sat at the table and Rachel brought the first course through,   
a pasta dish with fish and herbs, and apple juice to drink with it.   
The conversation was halting at first but although they came at the  
subjects from very different angles the two had many interests in   
common. They both loved folklore and urban myth, and Rachel listened  
to Mulder's story of his encounter with the Jersey Devil withn great   
interest. They both had an interest in the extraordinary powers the   
human mind might possess, and by the time they got around to desert,   
a rice pudding with cinnamon, the candles were mostly burning quite   
low.

Eventually the conversation got back around to ritual magick.

"I do have quite a collection of books on the subject, most of them   
quite old. And although older does not always mean better some of   
them can be quite poetic. Would you like to look at a few? That is  
after all why you came over here." Rachel said smiling wryly.

"I'd love to." Mulder replied, smiling warmly and just touching her   
hand as it lay on the table.

Rachel smiled back for a long moment, then blinked and got up to go   
over to her bookcase. "It might be easier for us both to read this   
on the sofa." she said as she bent down to pull out a slim golden  
leather bound book. Mulder brought their glasses over to the sofa,   
and Rachel came over with the book and sat next to him.

"Here." she said, opening the book on their knees and taking her   
glass from his hand. "An old spell book I found, full of gentle   
magic."

"Gentle magic, like white magic?"

"White and black are just colours Mulder. There is magic that is harsh  
and tries to force the world and Her people to bend to it's will, and  
there is magic that is gentle, and tries to work in harmony with what  
She wishes."

"Well, it is always a good idea to pay attention to what a woman   
wants." Mulder smiled.

"Indeed. Things do tend to work out better that way." Rachel smiled   
back, then took a sip of her drink and turned back to the book,   
turning pages idly and scanning through the titles.

"So, what gentle magick could I learn from here?" Mulder asked and   
moved up next to her to see the book better. He put his drink on a   
side table.

"Well, let us see." Rachel said, finishing her drink and putting the  
glass down next to the sofa bed. "Rituals for spring planting, spells  
for ripening, thanks for the harvest... it's a very practical book.   
Mostly concerned with the wheel of the year."

"The witches sabbats. Solstice, Equinox, Samhain, Imbolc, Lammas and  
Beltane." Mulder said softly.

"Yes... the Goddess and the God... death, birth, growing, celebrating  
their love..." Rachel replied equally softly, looking into his   
wonderful eyes.

Mulder slipped his arm around her, drew her to him and gently kissed   
her.

Rachel closed her eyes and let the book fall forgotten to the floor.  
She moved her hand to touch his face... his chest...

Mulder's cell phone rang.

He tried to ignore it but it kept on ringing, so he leaned back and   
said "Just one moment, okay?" and leaned over to get the phone out of  
his coat pocket.

"Mulder."

"Mulder, it's Scully. I'm at Carrie Walker's apartment. She's been   
kidnapped."

"What?" Mulder asked, sitting bolt upright. "When?"

"About five minutes ago. She phoned the sheriff's station to say   
Ferris was banging on her door and wouldn't leave, then the phone   
went dead. By the time we got here she was gone. Mulder, the place  
is a mess. She must have been really fighting."

"Well do you have any idea where she is now?" Mulder asked, picking   
up his jacket and putting it back on.

"Mulder, what's..?" Rachel started to ask but Mulder waved her quiet.

"None. Sheriff Charnley is getting search parties together now, but   
nobody saw them leave and we have no idea which direction they were   
headed in." Scully said, frustrated.

"I'll ask Rachel if she has any ideas. We'll be right there." Mulder  
finished and put the phone back in his pocket, finished pulling his   
coat on.

"What's happened?" Rachel asked.

"It's your sister, Carrie. She's gone, we think taken by Ferris."

"Oh no. How could he? That bastard. You don't know where he'd go?   
I have no idea, we didn't exactly move in the same circles." Rachel   
said angrily.

"You're sure? No ideas? Even a little thing might help."

"Agent Mulder I had as little to do with that... man.. as was humanly   
possible. My sister was always prattling about how he'd take her as   
far away from here as she could imagine. I've always been a little   
worried about that. I mean, the next life is pretty far away, right?"

Mulder took hold of her shoulder's gently and looked her in the eyes.  
"Rachel, we will do all that we can to get your sister back safely.   
Believe me."

Rachel looked at him a moment, then nodded. She broke away and   
brushed her hand across her eyes. "You'd better get going. I'll try   
my best from here." she said, keeping her back to him and starting   
to push the remains of their meal out of the way roughly.

Mulder looked at her a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I'll call you."   
he said, paused another moment, then left.

It seemed like half the town turned up in response to Sheriff   
Charnley's call for search parties. He stood in his office over the   
map and directed various groups to check this little wood or that old  
building, but no one found anything.

Then about an hour into the search Rachel walked in carrying a crystal  
pendulum.

"You found anything yet?" Neil asked her.

"Carrie's in woods somewhere, in the dark. Caleb says she's freezing   
cold. Now I've got myself in the right mind I thought I could borrow   
your map." Rachel replied, all business. Neil stepped aside and   
gestured for her to help herself. Rachel stepped forwards, closed her  
eyes, and dangled the crystal pendulum from one hand while she moved   
the other slowly across the map.

"Sheriff, what exactly is going on here?" Scully asked quietly.

"Oh, Rachel always helps with missing persons cases this way.   
Sometimes she finds them, sometimes she can't get anything. This time  
it's family, so there's hope. We haven't anything else to go on  
anyway." Neil replied in a hushed voice, watching carefully. Mulder   
looked on, interested.

They stood that way for a moment, then Rachel paused over the map.   
The pendulum, which had been swinging front to back, started moving   
side to side. She moved her hand back a fraction, and the pendulum   
started moving in circles. She opened her eyes. "Morgan's Copse, up  
towards the Old Ries place." she said firmly.

"That's near where we found Aaron." Neil supplied for the two agents,  
then glanced over at Rachel who had obviously made the connection too  
and was looking very afraid. Neil grabbed his jacket and torch and   
radioed for a couple of groups to be sent over that way, sending   
Rachel back to her place until they knew it was safe.

They arrived up near the little group of trees, as did Caleb in his   
truck with a bunch of blankets and hot food and drink. Those that had  
arrived before them reported that they had seen a light for a moment   
in there and they had the place more or less surrounded.

Mulder and Scully took their torches and, keeping the beams low to the  
ground, they headed in, with the sheriff right behind them.

It was a nerve wracking few minutes covering the open ground between   
them and the dark under the trees. They didn't know if Ferris was   
armed, or how desperate he was. When they were near enough though   
they heard him talking to Carrie.

"Now I'm not an unreasonable man. You know that. We had something,   
you and I." He was saying, as the agents crept closer. "We had a   
deal. You would become my wife tomorrow afternoon, and tomorrow night  
I would take you as far away from here as you can imagine, just like   
you always wanted." The agents were under the trees by now, and they   
could see firelight just ahead in a small hollow. "And you know, with  
me, a deal once made cannot be broken!" He said angrily and raised his  
fist to hit Carrie where she lay bound and gagged by the fire.

In that moment he noticed the approaching officers and changed the   
gesture to fling something in the fire, which exploded with a flash   
and temporarily blinded them, leaving them alone in the clearing  
with Carrie sobbing and mist lapping around their ankles.

 

"Damn." swore the sheriff, then got on the radio to those watching,   
"He's escaping on foot, don't let him get away."

But those outside the woods had seen nothing, and there was no trace   
left of Luc Ferris.

Carrie was untied and led back to her brothers truck, where she was   
wrapped up warmly. He drove her back into town, where she decided to   
stay the night with her sister Rachel.

The sheriff and some of his search parties along with the two agents   
kept on looking for Ferris, but by dawn there was no trace and so   
Mulder, Scully and most of the searchers got some sleep, while   
Sheriff Charnley co-ordinated the wider search.

 

It was just getting dark on Halloween night when Rachel went out for   
groceries, so she lit the lanterns on the way. They looked spooky but  
reassuring gleaming in the dark. Carrie stayed inside, curled up in a  
blanket sipping a hot drink.

When Rachel returned she was loaded down with bags. She had to put   
them down on the street to get her keys out and slide the door open,   
and when she picked up all the bags again she dropped the little  
pentagram key ring. She crouched for a moment and tried to pick it up  
again with a spare finger, then just scooted it towards the inner   
doors with her foot.

Right then the lanterns dimmed and something cannoned into her back,   
knocking her halfway through the swing doors.

Her shopping smashed all over the floor, and when she tried to twist   
around to see what had happened she saw Ferris, who grabbed her and   
twisted her arms behind her back. She screamed as loud as she could   
and kicked up at him but he grabbed her by the hair and slammed her   
face into the floor hard until she was still.

"Oh my god, Rachel!" Carrie yelled, spinning around to see what had   
happened and then turning to run. Ferris lunged after her.

Sheriff Charnley came running out of his office pulling his gun out   
and saw Ferris lunging in through the doorway. he brought up his gun,  
but Rachel pulled herself up by the edge of the door and blocked his   
shot. He ran in as Rachel tried a step forward and fell again, but he  
couldn't look to see how she was right then. Ferris had hold of   
Carrie and they were rolling around on the floor, so Neil dropped  
his gun near Rachel and dived in to the fight.

He pulled Ferris away from Carrie, who was pushing and kicking at him,  
but then Ferris twisted round and locked his hands around Neil's   
throat and it was all he could do to hold them enough apart he could   
breathe. Carrie grabbed a candle stand and whacked Ferris round the   
head a couple of times, then dropped it and ran again as he turned   
around and tried to grab at it. Neil tried to get up and follow him   
but he could barely catch his breath.

"Neil!" Rachel croaked woozily, and slid him his gun. He grabbed it   
up and brought it to bear and fired, twice.

Ferris froze a moment then fell.

Carrie sobbed hysterically and stumbled back towards them. Neil   
rubbed his throat a little and then levered himself up and went to   
check on Rachel.

"Oh, Goddess. Rachel, Rachel. How could I have let him do this to   
you?" he sobbed when he saw her. Her face was a mass of scratches,   
two black eyes seemed to be forming already and her nose looked  
broken. Neil gathered her up and hugged her.

"Not your fault." Rachel mumbled, putting an arm up around him.   
"Remind me to paint some wards on the porch floor next time."

"Rachel." Neil whispered into her hair. He picked her up gently and   
started carrying her over to his office. "Come on, I'll get you   
fixed up." he said. Carrie sniffled a bit and followed them over the  
road.

Once there Charnley called medics for Rachel and phoned Mulder to tell  
him what had happened. Carrie phoned Caleb and told him Ferris was   
dead.

When the two FBI agents arrived though that suddenly became much less   
certain.

The doctor was in the office with Rachel and Neil was hovering to make  
sure she was okay. When Mulder and Scully arrived he took a last   
anxious look and then led them over the road to see for themselves.

The barn was dark, the candles and lanterns gone out. The sheriff   
stepped over the spilled grocery bags and said "He came right in here,  
right under my nose, to try and get Carrie. Damn near did too. That   
man is strong! But all the muscle in the world won't stop a bullet.."  
He concluded as he flicked the light switch and turned to gesture to   
where Luc Ferris.... wasn't any more. "What on earth?" he exclaimed.

There were marks from where Ferris had stepped in the spilled   
shopping, all around the area the fight took place, but there was no   
blood. And the only footprints leading out were those made by   
Charnley and Carrie.

"He was right here, I swear it. I shot him twice at point blank   
range. There is no way he could havesurvived that!" Charnley swore.

"You didn't check?" Scully asked, pulling out her gun and quickly   
looking around the room.

"Well, no. The man went down. I saw it."

"Down does not always mean dead sir. Get some searchers in here.   
I'll check towards his place." Scully said, moving out of the door   
and heading down a side alley.

"I'll go check out the barn. If he actually believes in this deal   
it's where he is sure to turn up." Mulder said, running off. Charnley  
stood for a moment then hurried back in to his office to call out the   
help again.

Scully headed down the darkened alley looking carefully for any signs   
that Ferris had been that way. An occasional streak of white on the   
walls could have been flour from his jacket, but she didn't see him.   
The alley came out onto second street and Scully turned right,   
towards both Luc's apartment and the alley the black cat bar was in.   
As she approached that alleyway, she thought she saw a shadow move in   
a doorway. She brought her gun up.

"FBI! Come out with your hands up!" she shouted, stepping towards   
it slowly.

The shadow resolved itself into a bruised and beat up looking Ferris,   
who looked at her then took off down the alley. Scully gave chase   
immediately. She had to dodge around some trash cans and for a moment  
he was out of sight but she kept up with him. He ran down the dark   
alleyway towards the glowing neon of the bar sign for the Black Cat   
Bar. There was a bouncer on the door, but he nodded and waved Ferris   
in. As Scully came running up the bouncer stepped in the way "Sorry   
lady, private party.. hey, what are you..?" He exclaimed seeing her   
gun and grabbing for her.

"FBI!" Scully yelled, yanking out her ID. He let go of her in a   
hurry and she pushed past as he tried to step out of the way.

Inside the light was even dimmer than usual, as the room was hung   
about with orange and black paper and little glow in the dark   
skeletons. The place was full of vampires dancing with ghouls and   
zombies to the booming music, and for a moment Scully couldn't see   
Ferris through the crowd. The a gap opened up and she saw him running  
towards the back. She brought her gun to bear yelling "FBI! Stop   
where you are!"

Ferris got to the back corner of the bar near the flashing light of   
the sign and saw the fire door was chained shut. He spun around, saw   
Scully in the doorway with her gun aimed right at him, and started to   
reach into his coat. Scully fired.

Ferris jerked from the shots then fell with a crash, knocking down a   
table. Scully saw him on the floor in a heap and moved towards him   
but then the costumed people started screaming in panic and running   
for the door, and she got pushed aside. She got her cell phone out   
to call Mulder.

 

The barn doors were open as Mulder approached. Caleb's truck was   
parked outside and as Mulder neared Caleb came out carrying a box   
full of brightly wrapped parcels. "Agent Mulder, what's happened?"   
Caleb asked, seeing Mulder had his gun out.

"It's Ferris, he's alive. Have you seen him?" Mulder asked urgently.

"Ferris? But Neil said he'd shot him! Caleb exclaimed, dropping the   
box and heading back in to the barn. "Carrie! Carrie, come on,   
we're getting out of here. You too Zeb."

Inside the barn a big table had been set up to hold the presents and   
food for the wedding. The whole place had been cleaned and covers   
put over the hay bales and the messier equipment. There were   
streamers hanging from the roof and the old sword up on the wall had   
been polished up and had a couple of streamers tied to the hilt.   
Carrie and Zeb were busy filling boxes.

"What are you doing back in here? I thought you'd agreed not to come   
in here tonight. this is the first place Ferris will come." Mulder   
said, moving in to the barn and looking around into the shadows.

"Luc is dead, isn't he?" Carrie asked.

"Not no more it seems." Caleb answered grimly. "Come on, we're   
leaving."

"But the drink.." Zeb said, grabbing for a bottle. Caleb got him by   
one shoulder and started trying to move him.

Mulder's phone went. He reached into his coat and got hold of it.

"Mulder."

"Mulder, it's Scully. I got Ferris, out in the alleys. I had to   
shoot him." 

"He's dead? You're sure of that?"

"Of course I'm sure Mulder. I hit him at least twice." Scully said,   
moving back in to the bar now the rush had cleared. "Wait a minute.   
Mulder, he was.." and abruptly the phone went dead. "Mulder?   
Mulder!" Scully said, and started to run towards the barn. The bar   
was empty. Luc Ferris had gone again.

In the barn, just as Scully discovered the 'body' was gone, the doors   
slammed shut behind them and the electric lights all went out, leaving  
only a dim glow from the now flickering lanterns. Mulder spun around   
and raised his gun, but it was knocked out of his hand by some force   
before he could bring it to bear on the figure in the doorway.

It was Luc Ferris, beat up with holes in his jacket but very much   
alive.

Around his feet a mist appeared, and started moving up to cover the   
doorway, glowing green.

"Hello Zeb. I told you this deal could not be broken." Luc sneered   
quietly.

"Demon! Devil! you get away from my family, you hear. I never   
agreed to this!" Zeb yelled, shaking his fist and stepping between   
Ferris and the twins.

Ferris glided forwards trailing mist behind him. "Everything that is   
yours in this barn tonight. That was the deal. And you can't say I   
haven't kept up my end of the bargain." He hissed. Zeb swung at him,   
and Ferris caught his arm and twisted sharply. The snap echoed   
through the room as Zeb's arm broke, and he howled in pain. Ferris   
pushed him back, where Zeb fell in a heap.

"Now, Carrie. I think we have a deal of our own to consummate." He   
leered, and moved towards her.

"Get back where you came from!" Caleb yelled, and grabbing a   
pitchfork from under a tarp he ran forward to try and impale Ferris.

Meanwhile Mulder had seen the sword up on the wall and he climbed up   
to grab it. Without letting himself think about it he swiftly cut his  
arm and let the blade get red, then turned just as Caleb yelled  
and started reading the incantation from memory.

"Foul rebel spirit, turn back! In the name of the holy I exhort you!" Mulder declaimed, jumping down a level on the hay. Ferris had grabbed the pitchfork and snapped it in two, flinging Caleb back in a heap against the wall. now he turned and hissed, his face twisted and hateful. "Abhorrent creature of hell, Nature rejects you!" Mulder continued. "Begone, Go back, Return, Depart!" And on this final word he leapt down just as Ferris leapt for him, and for a moment all was confusion as Luc Ferris' nails scratched at Mulder's face, then he fell back, a look of surprise on his face as he looked down to see the sword had run him through. He looked up at Mulder one last time with hatred in his eyes, then dropped to the floor dead.

Right then the lamps steadied and Scully burst in through the barn doors, gun drawn.

"It's all right Scully. This time he's not coming back." Mulder said, cradling his injured arm and looking down at the body, it's face still twisted into a sneer.

"Mulder! What's happened to you? Here, come out here into the light and let me take a look. I'll call an ambulance." Scully said, concerned, and led him out of the barn.

Caleb and Carrie followed them, leaning on each other. Carrie stopped for a moment next to the body, and spat on it. Then they limped out. Zeb was left lying there, unconscious.

After a moment, when the barn was empty except for Ferris and Zeb Walker, a rush of flames sprang up around Ferris' body. They quickly spread through lamp oil spilled in the fight until they reached about where Zeb was lying and then suddenly there was an explosion of flames, filling the barn instantly with a large boom. The shock knocked those outside to the ground.

"Zeb!" Caleb yelled, trying to get back in for the old man, but the fierce heat drove him back. The fire truck was there in only a few minutes, but they couldn't get the fire under control and by morning it had burnt itself out, reducing everything but the metal in that barn to a fine ash, though curiously the adjacent buildings never caught light.

Later, when Scully was typing up her report, she noted that 'although there is little or no evidence that Luc Ferris was anything other than a small time crook with a big attitude, the people of Olmory are already turning his story into local legend. The fire at the old Walker barn was so intense, fuelled no doubt by forgotten chemicals stored there, that only a few fragments of bone could be recovered, not enough to make any sort of identification. Rumours persist that the fire was started when the gates to hell opened in that barn, to take Zeb Walker and the demon he had made a deal with.'

When the two agents were getting ready to leave the sheriff's office to go home, Rachel Walker came out of her house holding something long and metallic.

"Mulder!" she called across to him when he was about to climb in the car, and ran round to meet him. "I thought you might want this. For later." She said, and held out the old sword he had used in the barn. Although the streamers had burnt away it otherwise looked if anything better for it's stay in the flames.

Mulder lifted his hands to hold it in front of him. He looked at it thoughtfully.

"You think I might need it again?" He asked, looking into Rachel's eyes.

She held his gaze for a moment, then dropped her eyes to look at the blade. "Well..." she said, tracing a finger along the flat, "I don't want to believe... but.. better safe than sorry." She finished, looking back up at him, and closing his hands around the sword so he had a firm grip.

Mulder nodded solemnly, then leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. "Thank you." he said, then got into the car. Rachel watched for a moment, then as the car started up she turned and walked in to the sheriff's office, blinking hard.

"You don't really think you'll need that?" Scully asked as she moved off and Mulder tried to store the sword on the back seat.

Mulder remembered the boy he had helped with the exorcism of, and the cases of doctors killing their patients whilst apparently possessed, and shuddered. "You know Scully," he said, turning to watch the road ahead, "I think that is one thing I don't want to believe."

**Author's Note:**

> Er, yeah, I haven't re-read it, but I suspect it does not reflect my current skill or attitudes. Don't bother to mock, it's ancient.


End file.
